Documents the mapping and discovery by the West of Asia and its trade routes; includes rare maps spanning 2,000 years of cartographic history.

An imaginative game of storytelling and adventure for little children. Part of a bright and lively series of board books that work like a game.

Beatrice Alemanga returns with a follow up to the charming Bugs in a Blanket. What happens when the bugs venture out into the big, wide garden to find some new friends? This sturdy board book introduces children to lovable bugs who learn how to accept creatures they are initially afraid of. Author Beatrice Alemagna invented a whole new technique of illustration for this book using a felted wool technique and an amalgam of applique, fabrics and stitching.

Younger than Jesus: The Artists Directory is the product of some of the most wide-ranging research in the field of contemporary art in years: the first Younger than Jesus triennial at the New Museum. Working with a team of 200 insiders (curators, writers, teachers, critics, bloggers and artists) scattered across the globe, curators Massimiliano Gioni, Lauren Cornell and Laura Hoptman have selected the 500 best international artists under the age of 33, from which they will curate the exhibition component of the triennial in spring 2009. While most generational exhibitions are retrospective, this one will be predictive, anticipating the future and revealing upcoming trends. Younger than Jesus: The Artists Directory will therefore be an unparalleled resource for curators, collectors, dealers and critics. By serving as a handbook to currrent artistic innovation, it will also appeal to artists, designers and anyone curious about the latest developments in visual culture.

The latest addition to Phaidon's best-selling Colour Library series of affordable introductory books on the great masters and movements in art features all of Leonardo' da Vinci's painted works and a detailed illustrated introduction.

It was during the depth of the Great Depression of the late 1920s and 30s, when at least 14 million people were out of work in the USA, that Dorothea Lange (1895 — 1965) first ventured out on the streets with her camera. In 1935 a report on migrant workers, illustrated with Lange's photographs, came to the attention of Roy Stryker and in response he invited Lange to become a member of the Farm Security Administration (FSA) photographic unit. Like Stryker, Lange believed that photography was a tool of political action, and this was no more apparent then when the federal government responded to the starvation crisis shortly after the San Francisco News received Lange's photographs — it quickly supplied 20,000 pounds of food to feed hungry migrants at the camps. Lange's championing of black migrants can be seen in the photograph 'Plantation Overseer and his Field Hands' of 1936, in which Lange captured the image of a man who exemplified the racist, exploitative and un-democratic attitudes that were rife in Southern plantation life. The evidence of racism revealed in this photograph — and others — is countered by Lange's many dignifying portraits of black subjects. When the bitter years of the Depression were overtaken by the advent of World War II, she continued to demonstrate her opposition to the poor treatment of migrants by opposing the relocation of 110,000 American Japanese to internment camps. She recorded the evacuation in Northern California after being assigned by the War Relocation Authority. In 1955, after a bout of ill health, Lange continued to work on contemporary social issues, namely a photo-essay for Life magazine, a sensitive study of the work of a Yugoslav-American public defender, representing those who could not afford to pay their own legal expenses. Lange watched and photographed him on and off for a year, catching the reflective moments of his defendants' body language. Lange was the first woman to be awarded the Guggenheim Fellowship (1941) and was placed on the Honour Roll of the American Society of Magazine Photographers in 1963. She was honoured with major solo exhibitions at the San Francisco Museum of Art (1960) and the Oakland Art Museum (1960) and she began preparing a retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art, New York shortly before she died in 1965.

Readers will go hog-wild for this rip-roaring adventure yarn starring Tomi Ungerer's beloved Mellop family. When Mr. Mellop finds clues to a sunken treasure in a dusty old trunk, he and his porcine family are soon embarked on a voyage that will have them donning scuba gear, exploring an undersea wreck, fending off a giant octopus, and getting shipwrecked on a desert island. First published in 1957, this charming tale showcases the wit, imagination, and captivating illustrations that make Ungerer one of the great children's storytellers.

Tomi Ungerer's intrepid family of pigs faces new challenges in this delightful tale first published in 1958. Bad-tasting water from a woodland brook prompts Mr. Mellop to look for oil, a decision that leads to a gushing well promising great riches — until a raging forest fire intervenes. But not to worry. By the end of the story, the Mellops are safely back home enjoying cake and ice cream.

Billy Wilder (USA, 1906-2002) is an undisputed master of American comedy, taking situation comedy to the edge of the absurd in Some Like it Hot (1959). But he also made pessimistic melodramas such as Sunset Boulevard (1950), in which Gloria Swanson gives a moving performance as a fallen star, and a few fine examples of film noir, such as Double Indemnity (1944) et Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Wilder worked with the greatest stars and his filmography is studded with classic scenes, including Marilyn Monroe playing the banjo in Some Like it Hot or holding her billowing skirt over the subway outlet in Seven Year Itch (1955), Jack Lemmon draining spaghetti with a tennis racket in The Apartment (1960) and Shirley MacLaine as a Parisian streetwalker in Irma la Douce (1963). His humour is often incisive and his vision of the world somewhat cynical, but all his characters experience a moment of truth and, for this reason, Billy Wilder is primarily a great moralist.

Welles began his direting career in 1940, at the age of twenty-five, with Citizen Kane, an undisputed, ground-breaking masterpiece of cinema history. Welles' satture as a baroque, impetuous and profoundly free artist made the sudios uncomfortable. He had control of every detail on the twelve feature films he was able to make, including Lady from Shanghai with Rita Hayworth (1947), Touch of Evil with Charlton Heston (1958), adaptations of Shakespeare's plays including Macbeth (1948), Othello (1952) and Kafka's The Trial (1962). Orson Welles remains a unique figure in cinema history and a real source of imagination for future generations of film-makers.

Billy Wilder (USA, 1906-2002) is an undisputed master of American comedy, taking situation comedy to the edge of the absurd in Some Like it Hot (1959). But he also made pessimistic melodramas such as Sunset Boulevard (1950), in which Gloria Swanson gives a moving performance as a fallen star, and a few fine examples of film noir, such as Double Indemnity (1944) et Witness for the Prosecution (1957). Wilder worked with the greatest stars and his filmography is studded with classic scenes, including Marilyn Monroe playing the banjo in Some Like it Hot or holding her billowing skirt over the subway outlet in Seven Year Itch (1955), Jack Lemmon draining spaghetti with a tennis racket in The Apartment (1960) and Shirley MacLaine as a Parisian streetwalker in Irma la Douce (1963). His humour is often incisive and his vision of the world somewhat cynical, but all his characters experience a moment of truth and, for this reason, Billy Wilder is primarily a great moralist.

From eclairs to souffles and macaroons to madeleines, when it comes to desserts, no-one does it better than the French. Beautiful, elegant and delicious, French desserts are easy to create at home as only a few basic recipes are needed to make some of the world's most renowned cakes and tarts. The Art of French Baking is the definitive collection of authentic French pastry and dessert recipes. From Tarte Tatin and Hazelnut Petit Fours to Cherry Tartlets and Choux Buns, it contains more than 350 simple recipes that anyone can follow at home. The book also includes details of basic equipment and techniques and information on how to troubleshoot common baking problems. Along with beautiful photographs and illustrations throughout, The Art of French Baking is an inspiring collection to celebrate the sweet tastes of France.

This is an introduction to cubism, the movement often seen as the single most important development in the history of 20th-century art. The book offers an account of the origins of the style in the dialogue between Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso between 1907 and 1914. It traces cubism's evolution in the work of these two artists as well as Juan Gris, Fernand Leger, Robert Delaunay, Andre Derain, Albert Gleizes, Jean Metzinger and many others. The book situates cubism in the context of its times, and shows how it penetrated artistic activity far beyond painting and sculpture, reinvigorating architecture, graphic design, music and poetry, and transforming the possibilities of photography and film.

A rebellious youth who chose a career as an artist against his father's wishes, Michelangelo (1475-1564) went on to be recognized as one of the outstanding talents of his age. Such was the degree of fame and wealth that he acquired that he became a legend within his own lifetime. In the centuries since his death his work has been almost universally admired, and he has been cast as the prototype for artistic genius. In this introduction to the artist's life and work, Anthony Hughes employs the latest evidence from research and restoration projects to take a fresh look at what Michelangelo was and what he has become. Setting Michelangelo within the political and social world he inhabited, Hughes interprets his work not only as the expression of an individual sensiblity but also as the results of often difficult transactions between artist and clients. He gives us an account of the full range of Michelangelo's creative endeavours, in the process exploring the artist's relations with family and friends, his sexuality and his position in the 16th-century world.

Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825) was the most important European artist in a period of extraordinary upheaval. A participant in the French Revolution, he then witnessed the rise and fall of Napoleon Bonaparte. A revolutionary in both art and life, David took painting away from the frivolity of the Rococo towards the dramatic moral force of neoclassicism. Passionate, intense, fiercely ambitious and a shrewd businessman, David brought to life in his paintings the heroic deeds of the ancient world, commemorated the revolutionary years in France and glorified the reign of Napoleon. In this comprehensive book Simon Lee employs up-to-date scholarship to present a view of David that incorporates artistic, political and social concerns. It deals with all aspects of his career and character and traces his changing relationships with his patrons. Lee follows David's career from his early student years in Rome, through his time as chief artist to the revolutionary government and Napoleon, to his life in exile in Brussels.

Celebrations of city streets; tranquil vistas of the countryside and seashore; enchanting images of the leisured classes in domestic interiors or at fashionable Parisian cafes — the work of the Impressionists gives pleasure to art lovers everywhere. But while Impressionism today may appear natural and effortless, contemporaries were shocked by the loose handling of paint and the practice of painting out-of-doors. In defiance of the conservative official Salon, the Impressionists — led by Edouard Manet, Claude Monet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Edgar Degas — sought to capture the immediacy of experience. This comprehensive study brings together the most recent research on Impressionism. James Rubin makes accessible its philosophical, political and social context, from Baudelaire's conception to the painter of modern life, to the influences of photography, the burgeoning art market, and contemporary notions of gender and race. As well as the acknowledged masters, our attention is drawn to lesser-known Impressionists such as Berthe Morisot, Mary Cassat and Gustave Caillebotte. Rubin also examines the work of Paul Cezanne and his relationship to the group. Finally, the book explores the legacy of Impressionism and its enduring appeal.

Carl Andre (born 1935), is among the foremost exponents of minimalism. Although best known for his grid-based floor sculptures, his output is diverse, encompassing large, outdoor public artworks and small sculptures, poetry and installations.

A survey of one of the most controversial epochs art history, the Modern Movement, this text combines a critical eye with a historian's insight into wider trends. It reflects the changes that have swept across the art world since 1960, challenging the old assumptions and certainties. As it reviews the worldwide view, the book's central argument is that the art world is no longer hierarchical but plural, and that its structures — if they exist at all — are provisional. The author charts the progress of contemporary development and points out their sources and interrelationships.

This series acts as an introduction to key artists and movements in art history. Each title contains 48 full-page colour plates, accompanied by extensive notes, and numerous comparative illustrations in colour or black and white, a concise introduction, select bibliography and detailed source information for the images. Monographs on individual artists also feature a brief chronology.

Minimalism comprises one of the key movements in post-war art. The term 'minimalism' was coined to describe the work of a group of American artists who, in the 1960s, produced a decidedly unexpressionistic, reductive work with a hard industrial feel. This title examines the movement from its beginnings to its broader cultural influence.